In a startling admission the 57-year-old Social Democrat wrote: “The financial crisis and the handling of the refugee wave have starkly revealed the weaknesses of the European unification project.”

He added: “The European integration project is now being met with hostility more than ever, from inside and from outside, from populists who make up simple solutions, from autocrats who are against our values. They all want to strip down or even destroy Europe.”

But said that meant the EU needed to have more not less integration, arguing: “We will have to deepen the economic and monetary union further.”

“The phrase is right, that Europe must finally grow up. The partnership with the US and NATO are the cornerstones of the transatlantic community. But the European Union must be able to cope with crises and conflicts in its own neighbourhood.

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He also called for the EU to establish stronger external borders with those countries outside the EU while also wanting stronger internal security, especially in light of recent terrorist attacks.

He ended his article for RP Online with a rallying cry: “We want to stand together, so that the signal from Rome will be: we Europeans tackle things, we defend Europe, we want to make it better! If we do not let ourselves be frightened, we will revive the European spirit courageously and confidently, include everyone, and also question some national feelings.”

AFP

Sigmar Gabriel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Mr Gabriel’s comments come after he stated that Germany, despite already being the single biggest contributor to the EU budget, should pay more because it profited the most from the bloc.

He wrote in an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “Every euro that we make available for the EU budget, comes back to us — directly or indirectly.

“So what if we do something unheard of in the next debate on European finances? Instead of calling for a reduction of our EU payments, we should show willingness to pay even more.”